


The Day After

by dsa_archivist, EA Karras (Anne)



Category: due South
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Series: Mountie Slayer Arc 2, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-10-30
Updated: 2000-10-30
Packaged: 2018-11-10 19:36:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11133339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dsa_archivist/pseuds/dsa_archivist, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anne/pseuds/EA%20Karras
Summary: The Day After....This story is a sequel toChaos Theory.





	The Day After

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Speranza, the archivist: this story was once archived at [Due South Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Due_South_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Due South Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/duesoutharchive).
    
    
    Title: "The Day After'
    Author: EA Karras and Magnes
    Series: Mountie Slayer Arc 2
    Disclaimers: Alliance owns Due south, we own Tom and James. 
    Notes: After Highers and lowers
    
    -------
    
    The city was quiet and subdued when finally they made their slow way
    back to the last vestige of civilization in North America. They managed
    to rent two hotel rooms, assigning Ray, Fraser and Dief to one and Vecchio
    and Tom to the other. Turnbull had insisted on heading back to the radio
    station to find Aja and Nikko. Zuko went with Turnbull a little ways
    before striking out on his own to explore this strange new place. Wyrmville,
    Kowalski called it, while Fraser gave its name as Necropolis. 
    
    Wyrmopolis would do for Zuko.
    
    Tom, despite the surge of energy he'd displayed on the frozen bay, had
    gotten as far as sitting on the hotel bed when every bit of energy left
    his body and left him exhausted. Vecchio finally pushed him over and
    untied his boots, shoving him into the bed. The same had gone for Fraser
    and Ray, who had at least managed to curl around each other to keep warm.
    
    ***
    
    Ray couldn't get over how cold it suddenly was. The air. He could breathe
    air again. What was happening to him? Had drinking the blood of a Higher
    made him a ghoulite again? Or dare he hope, human? 
    
    He snuggled his head into Fraser's shoulder, whispering something that
    might have been I love you. Fraser kissed his hair and stroked the back
    of Ray's neck, watching him sleep, listening to him breathe, feeling
    the life that returned. 
    
    This time there were no strings attached, no deals made, no debts to
    repay.  Tom, the Primal Higher, had done this. 
    
    What had Ray done to Tom? wondered the Mountie, pulling the detective
    closer.  And now what would they do with the state of the world? 
    
    ***
    
    Tom lay in a dozed sleep, letting his mind wander, literally, back to
    Chicago. Back to James. He had to know James and Cassie and Sophia were
    all right. He didn't think he could go on if he wasn't. 
    
    He sought out Cassie first. He didn't think he could handle the frozen
    mind that James might very well be now. He shuddered, suddenly remembering
    what he'd done to Xander. Is that what was happening to James? 
    
    He smiled as he found her. She was with Stella, Irene, Daniel and Ma
    just outside the ruined city. Thank God. She wasn't happy, but he hadn't
    expected her to be. But she was safe. That was what mattered. 
    
    When he sought out Sophia, he found Thatcher. So Sophia was with her.
    All right.  He couldn't imagine how the Inspector managed had found her,
    but that didn't matter. He could only pray Ray Jr was with her. 
    
    Now James...
    
    ***
    
    He felt the mental connection with Tom open up and if he could have smiled
    he would have. He could feel Von walking around him, trying to work out
    how to get him unfroze. 
    
    Tom's mind felt...different. More organized. Deeper. He rather liked
    it, though it would take some getting used to. 
    
    He couldn't reach out. Couldn't give, only take. He wanted desperately
    to reassure Tom but he could project nothing, not even to Von. 
    
    Von was another case. He'd told Calhoun in great detail what the clan
    had done as far as Sophia and the Vecchio's son, the measures they had
    taken to keep the Slayers safe and procure them supplies. There was more
    than a hint of anger in Von's voice whenever he spoke to the Moloch guarding
    him and Calhoun sighed mentally. There was a reason he never let any
    of the Sabbat near his friends. 
    
    They despised the whole notion of Tom Grissom.
    
    ***
    
    They really needed to get Nikko a wardrobe that fit.
    
    She had the body and mind of an eighteen-year old now and was totally
    unconscious of her stunning looks. 
    
    Joe was not.
    
    Which was why she was wrapped in a worn trench coat that had been hanging
    in the studio. 
    
    Turnbull found Joe, Nikko, and Caine together in the studio. The dynamics
    were strange as Caine held the DJ at bay with a hearty glare that all
    but screamed, "What are your intentions with my sister?" 
    
    Joe looked relieved to see Turnbull. So did the demon child but for totally
    different reasons. 
    
    "Everything went all right?" Joe asked.
    
    Turnbull raised his eyebrow. "You don't know?"
    
    "I've been a little..." Joe eyed Nikko, then glanced quickly at Aja.
    "Busy. I've been busy. Station shit...y'know..." 
    
    "Ah..." Turnbull looked at Caine. Maybe this discussion would work better
    outside. 
    
    ***
    
    Ray woke up, slowly, trying not to disturb Fraser's sleep. He stared
    across the room at a lamp slowly shaking it's self back and forth. Slowly
    rocking. Kind of like someone was standing beside it, just playing with
    it. Suddenly it lifted into the air, and whirled at the wall behind the
    bed, shattering instantly. 
    
    Fraser was up now, they both were. They sat up in bed, staring at the
    place where the lamp had been. The room was cold. Very cold. 
    
    A cold Ray recognized. The Spiritus Sanctii cold.
    
    Dief growled in wolf form, snarling at the wall.
    
    Ray stared as a form began to slowly materialize. Just hands now, ice
    white and looking like they'd been glued together. As the phone followed
    the lamp, Ray turned around to stare at the wall. What did the hands
    have against plaster? 
    
    He turned back around and gaped. "Xander?"
    
    He looked cold. Very cold. Frozen. Suddenly, the kid grinned and shattered.
    
    ***
    
    Tom's eyes opened wide as he heard screaming come from the other room.
    He looked at Vecchio. The detective was out like a rock. 
    
    Scrambling out of bed, Tom hurried to the room next door. There was a
    yelp and a curse and more crashing sounds. 
    
    "Fraser! Watch out!"
    
    Tom tried the door. It was locked. He threw his shoulder against it,
    then again.  On the third try it opened and he was greeted with pandemonium.
    
    Everything in the room was flying through the air, smacking off the walls
    or the two men and the werewolf. Clothes, pillows, furniture, stationary
    - everything was swirling around a central figure. 
    
    "Tom! Tom, it's Xander! He's dead! He got killed!" cried Ray. "He keeps...shattering!"
    
    As if on cue, the disgusting sight of frozen flesh and bone shattering
    happened again. Xander grinned, clearly enjoying the reaction he was
    getting out of the Caanite. 
    
    Tom frowned. He could just make out the form of the dead boy. Well, two
    could play at this game. Turnbull would probably be better at this, but...
    
    "Get out," he ordered them. "Now! Get out!"
    
    Fraser snatched Ray's glasses out of mid-air and bustled the freaked-out
    detective out the door. Dief bounced along behind them and Tom bolted
    out too, yanking the door closed behind him. He closed his eyes, whispering
    a spell of containment. 
    
    "You want to play that way, Xander," murmured the Seer. "Let's see how
    you like being stuck in one spot for all time." 
    
    Tom looked back at Ray and Fraser then did a double-take.
    
    Stan's fangs were gone.
    
    "What..."
    
    "You."
    
    "Me?"
    
    "Your blood."
    
    "Oh..."
    
    ***
    
    Von lit the third fire slightly to the right of his elder. They'd have
    to be very careful with this. One wrong move, and there'd be barbequed
    Elder for dinner. Not a pleasant though. 
    
    He looked towards the Moloch. She looked quite nervous around the slowly
    forming puddles of water. Every time one neared her feet, she would jump
    back a few feet. She suddenly looked at him, tongue touching her own
    set of fangs. Razor sharp. A Sabbat would kill for fangs like that. "Hot
    water works better." 
    
    He glared at her and she shut up quickly.
    
    ***
    
    When Vecchio woke up, Tom was gone. But he wasn't alone.
    
    No, the room was filled to the brim with everyone and their cousin. 
    
    Well, maybe that was an exaggeration.
    
    He woke up nose-to-nose with the wolf and sat up with a yelp. "What the
    hell-" 
    
    Fraser glanced up from his copy of the Necropolis Times. "Our room was...haunted."
    
    "You're /joking/ right?"
    
    "No. Xander. Funny that," Fraser leaned back in his seat. "I didn't realize
    he'd died. How did it happen?" 
    
    Vecchio looked reluctant to say. "Tom."
    
    To his surprise, Fraser merely nodded in acknowledgment. Vecchio blinked.
    He'd rather expected...anything other than acceptance. 
    
    "What gives, Benny? Normally you'd be in a fit right now. I mean, the
    kid was a punk, but Grissom was brutal. Stabbed him and froze him and
    shattered him." 
    
    Fraser's voice was perfectly calm. "Ray is no longer a vampire."
    
    "What?" Vecchio twisted to look at the sleeping figure curled up in a
    tight ball on the other bed. 
    
    "He drank Tom's blood. Something about it switched him back to a hybrid."
    
    ***
    
    Zuko saw Tom leaving the hotel and caught up with him. "Where're you
    going?" 
    
    "Home," said the Moloch without breaking stride. "I have to find my daughters.
    Help James. Can you tell them?"  He barely even looked at Zuko. 
    
    "What about your son? And...Nikko, was it?" Zuko demanded.
    
    "On my way to see them first. Let the others know, will you?"
    
    "How the hell..." The Giovanni trailed off as Tom hurried away. Oh, well.
    
    ***
    
    Nikko squealed with delight and threw her arms around him in a tight
    hug as Adam tackled him low. Tom held his two children, taking a long
    moment to study his daughter. 
    
    "You look just like your mother," he whispered, all anger at Marianne
    Calhoun dissipating at the sight of this beautiful young woman. 
    
    "I thought so, too," stated Turnbull.
    
    He smiled at the Seeker then looked at Joe. The DJ seemed strangely uncomfortable.
    
    "Thank you for saving us, Seeker," said Tom, meaning it. "I don't think
    I took the time before. I owe you a great deal." 
    
    Turnbull shook his head. "You don't owe me anything, Tom. There's still
    a lot we have to do." 
    
    "Exactly. I need to get back to James and Cassie and Sophia."
    
    Joe flinched. Wondering what that was all about, Tom continued.
    
    "I need the Necronomicon to open a wormhole. I'm pretty sure your Inspector
    Thatcher has Sophia and I'm hoping Ray jr." 
    
    Turnbull looked shocked at the notion, but shrugged. That wasn't the
    strangest thing that had happened all day. "How can I help?" 
    
    ***
    
    "This is going out to Wyrmville's very own Primal Higher, Tom Grissom.
    A classic hit by Queen, 'The Seven Seas of Rhye'." 
    
    ***
    
    Fraser opened the hotel room door, staring at Frank Zuko with some surprise.
    He had been under the impression that the Giovanni had gone exploring.
    "Has something happened?" 
    
    "Depends on your definition of happened," Zuko grinned, "The Seer said
    to give you a message. He's going home." 
    
    "Home." Fraser blinked twice. "To Chicago"
    
    "He said there was something he needed to take care of. Something to
    do with the Sabbat." 
    
    "Oh dear..."
    
    ***
    
    Turnbull handed the book to the Primal Higher along with a ceremonial
    knife. Tom knelt by the flag pole in front of the brownstone, turning
    to the page he required. Suddenly he looked up. "Nikko." 
    
    "Daddy?"
    
    "I'd like you to come with me."
    
    She frowned, tilting her head curiously. "Why?"
    
    "You know why." He stared at her calmly, willing her to understand. She
    shrugged and nodded. "All right. What about Adam?" 
    
    Aja looked up at the mention of his name. "Huh?"
    
    "Adam." Tom looked at his son, thinking. "Adam, I want you to go with
    Turnbull and see Benton, ok? Tell him what Nikko and I are doing. Tell
    him...tell him to do as he wishes." 
    
    "I will. Be careful, Daddy. Bring the Elder home safely."
    
    Tom smiled. Adam now used the title as an affectionate term, not a deliberate
    reminder of his superior position. 
    
    ***
    
    Von sighed with relief as his elder's hands finally were released from
    their icy prison. That meant his experiment was working. If he still
    believed in God, he'd be thanking him right about now. 
    
    He looked up as he felt a glow on his face. A wormhole...
    
    The Seer, Elder Calhoun's consort. And a girl. He could smell his elder
    on her too. Another child or childe? 
    
    What in Hell's name was going on?
    
    The Moloch Girl went to her Higher's side in an instant. He looked at
    her, surprised, then his gaze turned to James Calhoun. Before he could
    go to him, Tom found himself in Von's grip. 
    
    "Don't you /ever/ touch him again, /Moloch/," Von hissed, unprepared
    as the Higher turned on him, snarling. 
    
    "Get your hands off me, /Sabbat!/"
    
    He'd never understood the hatred and disdain of the other clans until
    now. He'd never used the word as an insult before this. 
    
    "He's like this because of you!"
    
    "He's like this because the Spiritus Sanctii gave me their powers to
    help stop D'Hoffryn from destroying all of you!" Tom snapped right back.
    
    Von tightened his grip. "You distract him too much. You're just a consort."
    
    "And you're just jealous," Tom answered.
    
    Darkness and fury clouded Von's face and another hiss escaped him. Tom
    growled right back, knowing he was a match for the Sabbat even though
    his heart wasn't in it. He wanted to free James. Now. Not tussle with
    the junior officers. 
    
    "You're in my way," threatened Tom.
    
    "You're in mine, Moloch."
    
    "That's Primal Higher to you, kiddo."
    
    The argument might have gone on except that Nikko went over and touched
    her father's hand, gently bending his fingers. She smiled in delight
    and exclaimed, 
    
    "Daddy! You really will be better!"
    
    Von gaped at her and Tom took advantage of the moment and shook free.
    He could sense how tired James was, how badly he wanted to move, to sleep,
    to think... 
    
    Without thinking, Tom stepped up to him and kissed those parted lips.
    Ice. Ice and cold. 
    
    Tom hesitated, ignoring Von and remembering Ray. Perhaps...it couldn't
    hurt... 
    
    He lifted his wrist to his mouth, his teeth sharp enough to cut through
    flash and then he pressed his bleeding wrist to James' lips. Not all
    of it got in. But what did warmed the Sabbat elder immediately. Half
    frozen hands went to Tom's wrist, clutching it tighter, pulling it closer.
    
    Tom winced at the pain. He could feel the other Sabbat's disgusted gaze
    on him, and wondered at it. Was this why James never brought him to meet
    any of his clan members? Because of how they thought of him. What had
    the vampire called him?  Consort? Vampires and demons normally despised
    each other. James was an exception to that rule as he was the exception
    to so many rules. His clan couldn't be expected to share his views in
    all things. 
    
    Clearly this was such a case.
    
    Thoughts gave way to pain and elation. Tom smiled tensely as James finally
    pushed his wrist away. "James..." 
    
    "I don't...I don't even want to know...how you did that," James whispered,
    holding onto Tom's shoulders for support. He looked at Nikko, then back
    at Tom. 
    
    "Long story..."
    
    "I'll bet." James looked at Von. "How long was I like that?"
    
    "I'm not sure. Three, four days, maybe?" Von glared at Tom again and
    James Calhoun sighed. 
    
    "Great. I bet Wyrm's taken over the whole world, right? Or D'Hoffryn?
    Am I right?" He looked to Tom for an answer and only found a loving smile.
    "What?" 
    
    "It's over."
    
    "What is?"
    
    "We won. They're both gone. Wyrm, and D'Hoffryn. The Spiritus Sanctii.
    Gone." 
    
    Calhoun blinked, unable to believe it. He'd missed the end of the world
    /again/? "They're dead?" 
    
    Tom shook his head. "Wyrm is contained. D'Hoffryn is dead. Stan killed
    him." 
    
    "God damnit, I wanted to see that. Don't the Primals need a Higher to
    stay alive?" Calhoun was suddenly filled with fear. He couldn't bear
    it if anything happened to Tom. 
    
    The look on Tom's face was disturbing. The Seer was about to reply when
    a Hienic came running in, alerted to their Higher's presence by security
    cameras. "Higher Grissom...we need you right away..." 
    
    Calhoun frowned. Higher Grissom?  He looked at Tom for explanation and
    did not like what he saw in his lover's eyes. 
    
    Did not like his lover's eyes period. There was something different in
    them. Everything that was Tom Grissom was still there, but there was...more.
    
    "Take Nikko," he whispered, catching Von's eye. The second nodded and
    Calhoun sighed. He did not want his daughter to see what he had to do
    right now. "I'll catch up with you." 
    
    ***
    
    The surest sign that Fraser received that Ray had returned to his former,
    not-quite-undead state of being was the fact that he slept far into the
    day. Ray was not an early riser by nature, but all his time as a near-vampire
    had seen him easily exhausted and always in need of a nap. It was very
    strange, considering how as a vampire he had required only a fraction
    of the amount of rest he had as a ghoulite. 
    
    He had given up reading the paper and moved to the bed, sliding in next
    to Ray and carefully positioning the green-haired man into his arms.
    Ray shifted and twisted but did not rouse. Fraser stroked his fine hair,
    wondering to himself at the changes and what could have brought them
    about. Ray had changed Tom, Tom had changed Ray. In both cases, for the
    better. 
    
    But was it permanent? And could the ring of fire ever leave Ray's hand
    again?  And what on earth was that scene with Xander that had happened
    earlier? 
    
    He sighed. He would have to speak to Turnbull  Right now, he was far
    more interested in watching Ray sleep, content and child-like in his
    arms. He had missed this. Missed Ray. 
    
    He bent his head and pressed a kiss to the soft, spiky hair. Ray sighed
    happily, snuggling closer and Fraser sighed in bliss. 
    
    ***
    
    "...up next, a long-distance dedication from me to cat woman. Get your
    minds out of the gutters, you slobs, her dad will find a way to kill
    me again if I try anything slick. Here's 'Missing You'." 
    
    ***
    
    Tom followed the Hienic, Nikko and the female Moloch trailing close behind.
    They reached the end of the catwalk and looked down. Two Sabbat were
    standing in the middle of a quite pissed off circle of Primals. Molochs,
    Hienics, Enthos, Serpentine, Swiss Fish. 
    
    "What's going on?" Tom asked the Hienic who had brought him here. 
    
    "They've been taunting us for hours. Telling us we're all going to die
    because we turned against D'Hoffryn and backed you instead..." 
    
    Tom shook his head, "Idiots...D'Hoffryn was going to kill all the Sabbat,
    too."  Turning to Nikko, he settled her on a step and said, "Wait here,
    honey." He stepped onto the edge of the catwalk, and leapt down, landing
    on his feet in a kneeling position. Standing up, he got right in the
    Sabbat's face. "You got a problem, gang?" 
    
    "Oh, look. The consort," one of them sneered. Did they /all/ think of
    him that way?  "Someone fancy himself a Higher?" 
    
    "I'd be careful, kiddo. I've still got a bit of Swiss Fish left." He
    felt the Hienic tap his shoulder and leaned over. The Sabbat watched
    the whispered exchange. Tom grinned. "Really? Cool..." Before he could
    do anything, there was a small whisper from Nikko. Tom glanced up to
    see James, flanked by Von, glaring down at them from the catwalk. No,
    not at them. At the Sabbat. 
    
    "What /exactly/ is going on here?" Calhoun looked to his clanmates for
    answers. He did not look the least bit amused. 
    
    And Nikko, listening to the tiny portable radio, smiled at the voice
    dedicating a song to her. 
    
    ***
    
    Ray was still half asleep with the flash hit. It hurt, they always did,
    but...it felt good as well.  There was...hope. 
    
    He saw Frannie, Welsh and the Duck Boys. Battered, but alive.
    
    He saw Mailer Demons.
    
    He saw Chicago being rebuilt.
    
    He saw the 13th.
    
    He saw uniforms.
    
    The Primals.
    
    Nikko laughing as she helped him to stand up.
    
    He saw Cassie and the Vecchio's. Summer and sun.
    
    Then it got ugly. Very ugly.
    
    Calhoun screaming and falling to the ground.
    
    Adolph rising from flames. But wasn't he dead?
    
    Ray saw himself in uniform, directing traffic.
    
    He hadn't planned on screaming out loud until that moment.
    
    "Ray. Ray. Ray. Ray!"
    
    Fraser shook him, trying to rouse him, to yank him away from that god-awful
    vision. 
    
    "Ffffraser!" He clung to the Mountie.
    
    "A flash?" wondered Fraser, stroking his hair.
    
    Ray nodded, composing himself a bit. "It was good. Why does something
    good hurt so much?" 
    
    Fraser kissed his forehead. "I don't know. Tell me what you saw." 
    
    So he told him all he had seen, leaving the very worst for last.
    
    "Is that all you saw, Ray?"
    
    "N-no. Oh, God, Ben, it was awful! I was in polyester. My old uniform.
    It was too big and I was being forced to direct traffic!" 
    
    The Mountie held him close, crooning, trying to calm him. "There, there,
    Ray, I'm sure it won't last." 
    
    "Frase, I was so bad at it, Traffic Division kicked me out and my sergeant
    had to promise to take my whistle away. I suck at traffic." 
    
    "Well, there has to be /one/ thing you're not good at."
    
    ***
    
    Tom saw the smear of blood on James' mouth and a glance at Von explained
    why the Elder was able to keep upright. Exhaustion was radiating off
    of Calhoun as he took the stairs down to the lower level, his second
    just a step behind as if ready to catch him should he fall. 
    
    He wondered if James had spoken to the Sabbat about him or something.
    Von wouldn't meet his gaze. 
    
    "/You/," James said to the Sabbat that had sneered at Tom. "One more
    word from you and you'll be made personally responsible for the safety
    of my /consort/."  His tone changed the word from insult to endearment.
    It wasn't lost on the two vampires, but strangely, they seemed far more
    delighted to have their elder back on his feet than they were worried
    about his very obvious anger. 
    
    "And you," he turned to the other Sabbat. "/Shut up/, Theodore."
    
    There was a ripple of amusement through the ranks of demons at the use
    of the vampire's given name. 
    
    "I-"
    
    "Not a word. One of these years you'll learn you can't lie to me, Ted.
    Lay off the Primals. That's an order." He swung his searing glare across
    the demons assembled, completely unafraid even though they were grossly
    outnumbered. "I'm sure all the Primals will extend you the same courtesy.
    Mess with my clan at your own fucking risk, people." 
    
    Heads bobbed in mute acknowledgement. Calhoun looked on the verge of
    collapse and Tom realized that was his cue. 
    
    "Go on," he ordered. "Spread the word. I'll come back tomorrow. We'll
    start then." 
    
    "Start what?" Calhoun asked, quietly as Tom and Von led him out.
    
    Tom grinned, raising eyebrows. "Mind your business, nosey parker." 
    
    ***
    
    After settling James in with his clan and having his lover's assurance
    that the Sabbat would not stop him coming back later, Tom went off to
    find his daughters. But first he went to the grave of his son. 
    
    The grave of Adolph Grissom.
    
    He's insisted that Vecchio put his last name on the quick fix marker.
    He knelt by the grave, touching the softened soil lightly. His son. He'd
    thought Adolph had hated him. Maybe he had. Maybe. 
    
    But his son had saved his life, laid down his life for his father. 
    
    Whom he hated.
    
    Whom he tried to kill.
    
    He'd laid down his life.
    
    Why?
    
    What had been in it for him?
    
    What sort of deals had /he/ cut with Wyrm?
    
    He leaned back on his haunches, sighing. His son. His baby. He'd only
    wanted... 
    
    Adolph was his, not...
    
    He couldn't think, he didn't want to think. He buried his face in his
    hands and sobbed. 
    
    His son.
    
    His child.
    
    Dead for him.
    
    It wasn't fair.
    
    It wasn't necessary.
    
    It was wrong.
    
    It shouldn't have happened.
    
    ***
    
    Turnbull got them clothes from the bags they'd hastily packed in the
    trunk of the GTO. Their wardrobes had been cut in half, neither Ray nor
    Fraser being willing to venture back into the room Xander was busy haunting,
    and both men had been reduced to sneakers. 
    
    So now they sat, Ray, Ray, Fraser, Turnbull, Zuko, Aja, and Dief, on
    and around a few park benches, talking and trying to decide what to do.
    
    "We have to go back. Now," said Ray Kowalski.
    
    "There don't seem to be many options," agreed Fraser. "We're not needed
    here." 
    
    Ray Vecchio nodded, his face drawn by tension. "I want to find my family.
    All of them." 
    
    "Yes, there is the additional burden of finding the kidnapped children."
    
    Frank Zuko sat up. "Grissom said Thatcher might have them."
    
    Voices rose up on all sides, yelling at the vampire. Vecchio almost tackled
    him and Turnbull had to pull the irate Italian off, only to have Caine
    take his place with a rare fury in his brown eyes. 
    
    "Why didn't you tell us sooner, Elder?"
    
    "I just remembered now!" he defended, cowed by a three-year old's temper.
    
    The demon child looked over at his son and Fraser. "Now we must return
    quickly.  It may be that we come back to this city, but our home needs
    us more." 
    
    ***
    
    James Calhoun had followed Tom to the cemetery. He'd given his clan the
    slip after about five minutes of their care, having had enough of it.
    The other nine members of the clan were at the consulate protecting his
    daughter if they knew what was good for them and there was only so much
    he could take from the likes of Ted and Von and Joan. Besides, he was
    worried. Something was wrong with Tom. He felt...turned off. As if a
    switch had been thrown in Thomas Grissom and he'd reverted from a creature
    of instinct to one of emotion. 
    
    And such emotions. He watched him at the grave, watching a myriad of
    feelings flit across his lover's face until finally he broke down. Whose
    grave was it? not Sophia's? /Please, not Sophia's.../ 
    
    He lightly walked towards Tom, kneeling beside him. Nikko stood to the
    side, unsure of how to react to this. "Tom?" He saw the name and froze.
    
    Tom turned miserable, grieving eyes on his lover. He knew James had despised
    Adolph and would have killed him but for Tom, but the sympathy he received
    was unexpected and absolute and so typical of James Calhoun he wasn't
    really surprised. 
    
    He felt the Sabbat pull him into a tight hug. He'd missed this touch.
    He felt gentle fingers stroke his neck and he finally gave himself over
    to tears. 
    
    "How did it happen?" Calhoun finally asked, stroking Tom's hair.
    
    "He...saved my life," Tom managed, unable to get over the bitter irony
    of it. 
    
    ***
    
    Turnbull stood outside the hotel room door, bracing himself. He would
    not have ventured back if the Slayer had not left his Stetson behind.
    If Ray Kowalski had not insisted someone go get it, the hat being somehow
    sacred to the detective. 
    
    If he had not wanted to know what had happened to Faith.
    
    She had been like a daughter to him. The daughter he had accepted he
    would never have with Mina. And it wasn't fair that she should die twice.
    
    He would do his best to make sure she lived again. Somehow.
    
    But he had to know how she had died. And he /knew/ Xander Harris knew.
    
    He had to know.
    
    He stepped into the room.
    
    It was destroyed.
    
    As soon as Turnbull entered, Xander got at it - swirling objects, strange
    sounds, and a ghostly apparition that shattered for his benefit. 
    
    "Stop it. Now. You can't frighten me with stupid tricks."
    
    The show reached a climax then the ghost figured out the truth of the
    Seeker's words and abruptly gave up. First things first, Turnbull retrieved
    the Stetson.  Then he faced Xander. 
    
    "Tell me how you died, Xander."
    
    "It was Tom! He froze me and broke me and he stole my soul and I'm stuck
    here!" 
    
    "Stole your soul, did he? Well, you'll learn to cope eventually." 
    
    "Now I'm stuck here! I freakin' follow him all the way to Canada, and
    he traps me in this lousy room!" 
    
    "After you decided to terrify Prince Kowalski and Constable Fraser."
    
    "I was just playing," muttered the teenager.
    
    Turnbull nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps Tom was, also, when he shattered
    you." 
    
    "WHAT?"
    
    Turnbull looked at him squarely. "You lied to me, Xander. You lied about
    Faith, about the fortune cookies, about everything." 
    
    "I - not everything."
    
    "How did Faith die?"
    
    "I told you. We were ambushed."
    
    "Not by demons. By Anya, yes?"
    
    Silence. The ghostly figure couldn't, wouldn't look at him.
    
    "Alright. So much for freeing you, Xander. I hope you enjoy haunting
    one room for all time." 
    
    "W-wait!"
    
    Turnbull didn't.
    
    ***
    
    Cassie and Stella wandered through the destroyed city, having been sent
    ahead by the Vecchio's to find out if it was safe to return. In their
    opinion it wasn't, and they weren't sure it ever would be. But there
    were things they had to find. People they had to find. 
    
    Irene and Ray's son. Cassie's sister. Ray.
    
    ***
    
    Tom curled against Calhoun as the Elder Sabbat drove the lime green Gremlin
    towards the consulate. The thing never seemed to run out of gas and Tom
    didn't appear to be in any condition to drive or else James would've
    insisted that he not touch the thing. Nikko curled up in the back, asleep.
    
    He turned the dial on the radio, hearing the tail end of a dedication.
    
    '-goes out to the Xan Man in Hotel Wyrmville. 'I Fall to Pieces'. Hope
    ya like being dead kid. Ain't it a kick in the head?" 
    
    Tom started trembling again, and Calhoun tightened his grip. "Tom?" 
    
    "What?"
    
    "How did Xander die?"
    
    Tom bit his lip, afraid to look at James, afraid of seeing accusation
    or condemnation in his icy eyes. Finally he whispered, "I killed him."
    
    He waited, but there was no explosion. Finally venturing a look at the
    vampire, Tom saw a thoughtful expression on James' face and finally he
    said, "Good." 
    
    "I froze him."
    
    James nodded. "Okay. Well, if you want, you can melt him back d-" 
    
    "And I broke him."
    
    Calhoun looked surprised. "Broke?"
    
    Tom nodded. Calhoun made a face. If he could dream, he knew he'd be in
    for nightmares at the thought. 
    
    "Let's...not go there again, okay?"
    
    "Yeah," Tom said gratefully.
    
    ***
    
    Constable Fraser was very happy to get his hat back, Detective Kowalski
    even more so. Turnbull was the man of the hour and a newly elevated hero
    in the eyes of the Chicagoan. 
    
    "Can we go now?" demanded Vecchio as his former replacement did a happy
    dance around the lunch table. 
    
    Turnbull and Fraser ignored the elated detective as well. "How did Tom
    return?" 
    
    "A wormhole, I presume. He's so much a demon now he can do that." 
    
    "How about us?" Vecchio pressed.
    
    "We need a demon or someone with demonic blood in their system."
    
    Silence.
    
    Then the three men and the little boy turned appraising eyes on Ray Kowalski.
    
    "Raymond," called Aja.
    
    "Ya?" He called, pausing in his happy dance, happy to be needed, but
    wary about what for.  The looks on their faces, especially Vecchio's,
    boded nothing good for Chicago flatfoots and their experimental hair.
    
    "Raymond, we need you to donate a little blood." Aja whispered and Turnbull
    produced the same knife Tom had used. Ray's eyes grew huge at the sight
    of the near-scimitar. 
    
    "Hell no!"
    
    "Ray..."
    
    "Fraser, do not even think about going there, buddy!"
    
    "Ray..."
    
    "No!"
    
    Vecchio rose, dark and dangerous. "Yes."
    
    "Uh-uhhhhh," Ray shook his head vigorously. He was wearing the Stetson
    and it was a shade too big so his head moved further than the hat did.
    "No way you're usin' me like that again! Grissom said I made a good Woolite
    or Wallaby or whatever they needed last time and all we got was a box
    of freaky fortune cookies from Newark. No way." 
    
    "Ray..."
    
    "Frase! Defend me here!"
    
    "Ray..."
    
    "No!"
    
    ***
    
    As Frobisher walked the babies around the basement, trying to get them
    to sleep, Thatcher ventured to look outside the tiny basement window.
    She could see the feet of five Sabbat guarding the place. 
    
    If she could get Turnbull and Fraser to be that diligent, Canada would
    be in business. For the past several days the Sabbat had tirelessly stood
    guard inside and outside the consulate, providing them with food and
    supplies and whatever news they gleaned from the ruined streets. 
    
    They were a strange crew, even by Thatcher's and Frobisher's standards,
    nothing like the McGets. Still, they did their duty by their elder's
    daughter without complaint. Indeed, as far as she could tell, the notion
    of Calhoun having a child was highly amusing to them all. 
    
    She looked up at an unusual sound: a car. She could hear the Sabbat moving
    about upstairs, then voices and outright laughter. She caught the word
    'Gremlin' several times and wondered if they were getting invaded by
    the pesky little sprites. 
    
    New voices upstairs. A Canadian accent? Frobisher paused in his pacing
    as the door opened and a pair of heavy boots appeared on the second step.
    
    "Inspector Thatcher?"
    
    Meg looked up the stairs. "Calhoun?"
    
    The vampire looked at her with something akin to fear in his pale eyes.
    Behind him stood an equally anxious Tom Grissom and a dark-haired young
    woman that could be Grissom's sister. 
    
    "You have her? Sophia?" begged the Sabbat.
    
    She smiled. "She misses you."
    
    ***
    
    He fought hard as they manhandled him into the seat. "Fraser! I swear
    to God, if you get that thing anywhere near me, I'll pop you." 
    
    "Ray, we have to get home. This is the only way."
    
    Ray shook his head emphatically, desperate for any solution. "No. What
    about the tunnels Vecchio took?" 
    
    "The GTO won't fit."
    
    Leaving his car was not an option. "Driving."
    
    "Border patrol," reminded Fraser.
    
    Ray set his lips in a line and shook his head. "Fine."
    
    And Fraser knew he was going to pay and pay and pay....
    
    ***
    
    Tom held Sophia, keeping his eyes on James and Nikko. He sat in the back
    with Ray Jr in the baby seat beside him. He held his daughter close,
    unable to bear the thought that he may lose her. 
    
    He curled up, pulling her closer, feeling her tiny fingers clutch at
    his shirt.  Was he crying again? God... 
    
    ***
    
    Stella saw it first, the lime green Gremlin slowly driving down the street
    with the Mounties on its roof like two demented hood ornaments. She gaped,
    shocked. She'd thought everyone dead. Had been convinced of it. 
    
    Stella stepped into the street. "Meg?"
    
    "Stella!" cried the Inspector. The Gremlin came to a halt and she slid
    off her perch. "Stella! You made it!" 
    
    "It seems as if almost everyone is gone or hiding," said the vengeance
    demon, gripping both of her hands. "Who's with you?" 
    
    The door opened and Calhoun emerged. Cassie gave a squeal and landed
    a running tackle on him. Delighted, he held her close as Tom struggled
    out of the back seat and Frobisher climbed down as well. 
    
    "Take Sophia, James," called Tom, "I'll get Ray." His voice was a hoarse
    whisper, barely audible among the din. But somehow Stella heard. 
    
    "Ray? You have my Raymond?" Stella paled. She had believed her son long
    gone.  "Oh, my god! Raymond!" 
    
    She all but shoved Calhoun and Cassie out of the way and almost went
    through Frobisher to get to her dark-haired son. A scream of pure delight
    escaped her as she lifted him in her arms and she began to cry, clutching
    him against her chest. 
    
    Cassie stared at her father, sensing all of the changes in him. Some
    of them good, some of them bad. She wondered how he'd be able to handle
    any of them. If he would even try. 
    
    Then Cassie looked up at the quiet, black-haired young woman that was
    close to her own age as she emerged from the car. 
    
    "Who's that?" asked she.
    
    Tom smiled. "This is your sister, Nikko."
    
    She stared at him, blinking rapidly, then turned to appraise the girl
    once again. Not wearing much, was she? "Huh." 
    
    ***
    
    "Ray, it's not as bad as it looks..."
    
    "I am so gonna kick all of you in the head," Ray muttered from the back
    of the GTO as Fraser started the car and slowly drove it into the apex
    of the wormhole. They were crowded in the car, but Turnbull assured them
    the ride wouldn't last long. 
    
    As it was, it was already too long for Vecchio who had been assigned
    the task of applying pressure to the cut on Ray's arm. He could only
    pray that Dief stayed in kid mode for this. 
    
    Damn. Kowalski was passing out. Guess they had taken quite a bit of blood...
    
    ***
    
    Frobisher was the first to see the wormhole as it opened in the middle
    of the street. All were soon alerted to its presence when the GTO slowly,
    achingly made it's way out of the fiery hole. They stared, but it was
    Calhoun who spoke first, knowing what had happened. 
    
    "Prince Kowalski."
    
    As they watched, the car came to a halt. Suddenly there was shouting
    from within the car and a door was shoved open. Turnbull, Aja and Dief
    literally tumbled out as Ray Vecchio scrambled to get to his wife. Stella
    ran to him, clutching their son, not sure whom she was happier to see
    as he seized her in a powerful embrace and held her like he'd never let
    go. 
    
    Dodging reunited lovers, Calhoun made his way to the GTO. Ray was in
    the back seat, Fraser leaning over the seat to hold him upright. 
    
    "Ah, Jamey," greeted the Mountie. "Could you lend a hand?"
    
    "Constable!" exclaimed Thatcher. She balked at the jean-clad view. Fraser
    tried to address her and hold Ray at the same time with poor results.
    
    "Sir! I'm glad to see you're well."
    
    "What are you doing?"
    
    "Ray is fainting, Sir, we used his blood to open the wormhole and he
    was less than enthusiastic about it." 
    
    Meg Thatcher let her gaze fall upon Turnbull. "Well, don't just stand
    there, Turnbull, help Fraser! You, Calhoun, get in there!" 
    
    Calhoun and Fraser managed to support Ray between them, getting him to
    the sidewalk so Turnbull could get to work on the cut. Slowly, Ray looked
    up, staring at Calhoun surprised. "You look cold..." he managed to get
    out. 
    
    "I've been frozen nearly two days." Calhoun grinned, looking up at the
    sky. He had never been more glad to be a Daywalker. 
    
    "Frozen." Ray blinked. Like in his flash. The Sanctuary card.
    
    "Not as bad as Xander, but yes. Frozen."
    
    "Xander..." Ray looked at Turnbull. "Xander was frozen?"
    
    Turnbull glanced back at Tom, then looked at Ray. "Possibly."
    
    "Possibly...." Ray blinked, feeling starting to come back into his body.
    "Never mind. I don't wanna know." 
    
    "You really don't," Calhoun nodded.
    
    ***
    
    Cassie turned to her father, "What's wrong?" she asked quietly, holding
    Adam in her arms as her little brother slept. He looked exhausted. "Something's
    upset you." 
    
    "Your brother..."
    
    "Adam?"
    
    "No. Adolph."
    
    "Is he back? Did he hurt you?"
    
    Tom looked down, shaking his head.  "No, honey. He died. Saving me."
    
    "Oh, Daddy." She wrapped her arms around his lean frame and held him
    close, unable to think of anything more to say. 
    
    ***
    
    "...We'll be back with Ma by tonight. You guys get the kids to Warfield's
    and go find Frannie and Welsh. We'll meet at Warfield's." 
    
    Fraser nodded, knowing Prince Warfield would be annoyed as all get-out
    when they invaded his domain, especially since Frank Zuko had decided
    to stay in the Necropolis in Canada. Still, it was the safest place they
    could go right now. 
    
    Vecchio and Stella took Turnbull and the Gremlin to go locate Ma and
    the rest of the family.  The rest of them piled in and on the GTO and
    Fraser carefully drove to Warfield's. 
    
    "Looks like a parade float," muttered Ray Kowalski.
    
    Warfield looked less than thrilled to see them, except for Caine. 
    
    They could also tell he was mightily relieved despite his growled welcoming.
    
    Immediately upon settling Ray and the children, the three Mounted Slayers,
    Calhoun, and Tom left, out searching for Frannie and Welsh. 
    
    They found them in the ruins of the 27th, which had been torn asunder
    by Wyrmquakes. They found Frannie and Welsh, as well as the Duck Boys
    huddled in the basement, as if they expected what was left of the roof
    to come crashing down on them. 
    
    And as they headed back towards the compound, Benton Fraser took a look
    around what had once been Chicago and he sighed. Rebuilding would have
    to start right away. 
    
    He wondered what the rest of the world was like. Did it even matter?
    He watched his friends for a moment and he realized that no matter what,
    no matter the odds, they would survive this and make this place safe
    for the next generation. 
    
    Frannie touched his arm, bringing him back to the here and now. She was
    asking about her family and Welsh was saying how there were still some
    families in the neighborhood and even a few cops left that he'd sent
    home. They would start co-coordinating tomorrow. Tonight, they wanted
    to celebrate being alive. 
    
    Fraser smiled. He was all over that.
    


End file.
